Why No Excuse

No Excuse is a blog focusing on poverty and poverty issues in Hamilton, Ontario. Look here daily for news items, events, resources, and a chance to engage in discussions with others on local poverty issues. No Excuse was originally staff-written when it was launched in 2007 as part of the Hamilton Spectator's Poverty Project, but it is now a community blog written by people who come from all walks of city life, but share a deep concern for poverty issues. See "Who Are We" for more information about our authors.

June 12, 2007

Homeward Bound - Changing Lives Forever

I'm back. Before we get too far away from it, I'd like to share a couple more items from the Affordable Housing Flagship event last week.
Certainly the highlight presentation was a talk by a pair of Torontonians, Graham Watts and Karen Kindness, from Woodgreen Community Services. They were brought to Hamilton to tell us about Homeward Bound, a newish, wrap-around type program whose goal is deceptively simple: "help women and children who have experienced homelessness acheive economic self-sufficiency."Homeward Bound does this, Graham explained, by offering

Housing support (actually a place to live in purpose-built housing)

Career development

On-site childcare (and After Four programs)

One-on-one counselling

Chance for a job at the end of the programme.

It appears to be an ambitious, tightly targeted program that, while it isn't for everyone, offers real hope to at least a minority of homeless women.

Women are housed, trained, counselled and given work experience.
Their children are cared for on site and after school. All of it takes
place in a supportive, community setting that allows the women to live
independently, but also lean heavily on the supports that are there."The program offers wrap around and holistic support" Graham explained.Woodgreen
created an industry council with the Big 5 banks, Microsoft, IBM and
all three levels of government and consults them regularly to ensure
that the program is designed to help women get jobs. The career
development includes taking the so-called "International Computer
Drivers Licence", which offers computer and web literacy tools. They
also enroll at Seneca College, typically in 2 year programs in
Information Technology or Financial Services, although some have taken
law clerk and other courses.It's a very expensive programme. Both to set up and to operate. (Here's a story about
a philanthropist who bought the land Homeward Bound is built upon.)
Graham said it costs about $120,000 per family to run the program.it costs about $123,000 per family over the 3 year life of the program. (Costs include OW and housing subsidy dollars.)But
when Karen Kindness began to tell her story, all worries about the
costs disappeared. As she began her tale she seemed every inch the
successful young career woman; attractive, smartly dressed, smiling and
confident. Of course that's only part of who she is.For many
homeless women, the trigger is the dissolution of a bad
relationship,and in Karen's case it was a four year relationship that
left her with two children under three years old. She was depressed,
isolated, estranged from her family and personal supports, and broke."I had failed my children and myself," she said, her voice growing thick as she remembered that time, not too long ago."I checked into the shelter." She
began looking for work - which only left her more depressed. With no
post-secondary education, the only jobs she saw paid about $12 an hour,
which is a well below-poverty wage in a city where the average one
bedroom apartement rents for more than $900.Her social worker told her
about Homeward Bound as it was starting up, she applied, was accepted
and ... it changed her life.
Karen went back to school, dove into it, worked very hard and
succeeded. She graduated from Seneca with a GPA of 4 and was recognized
by the school as a mentor. She also snagged an IT job with a bank, a
job with responsibilities, pay and a future.
It's a real accomplishment for a single mom with 2 small children and
no money and, while she deserves to feel proud about what she's
accomplished, she brushed it away saying "the thing that matters the
most is the sweat and tears of the people who believed that we could do
it, that those 32 women (in Homeward Bound) could do it."
In fact not everyone could. Karen talked about a close friend she'd
made in the program who didn't make it, succumbing to the addiction
that had rendered her homeless in the first place. Graham explained
that 44 women have gone or are going through the program so far.
They'll have 7 graduates by this summer, 3 people in jobs earning
$40-$50,000 a year. 30 have enrolled in college and 2o have been able
to qualify for internships.
It's not failsafe - but it's a hell of a better success rate than the streets.
Standing at the podium, Karen looked out at her audience, a mixed group
of bureaucrats and agency types, homebuilders and businesses and
thanked them for their work, removing any doubts about it's value.
"You've changed lives, changed them forever. I'm 30 years old, there's
only so much you can do for me, but my babies are innocent and you've
changed their lives forever. They now have an opportunity for a real
life."Bill DunphyPhoto is of Karen Kindness and Graham Watts, taken with my old cell phone camera